With the beginning of the brick-making season, around 60 illegal brick kilns have started operation inside the forests, near indigenous paras and many schools in Bandarban, destroying environment in the hills.

These kilns use firewood collected from the forests, even from the reserve forest, to burn bricks, posing serious threat to human health and natural environment but the administration concerned never take any noticeable action to stop operation of the kilns as its owners are running the business with the help of the influential ruling party men, said locals.

The most affected villages are Shivatoli Puraton Para, Shivatoli Naya Para, Mong Ba Ching Para, U Mra Mong Headman Para and Meaung Para of remote Faitong area under Lama upazila.

Residents of the villages alleged that the brick kiln owners can run the business as the local administration and CHT Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing are in favour of the owners.

“While we have been protesting over the last few years, the illegal brick kiln owners threatened us saying they managed local administration and even the hill minister,” said U Mra Mong, headman of Faitong area.

“We went to the local administration and the hill minister several times but they never help us in this regard,” said the headman.

“We are facing severe water crisis as the kiln owners have destroyed the water bodies near our Para,” said Mong Hrey Marma karbari (village chief) of Mong Ba Ching Para.

“The environment of the area is polluted badly while fertility of farmland around the brickfields is also going down,” said U Chaw Marma, karbari of Shivatoli Puraton Para.

“In 2017, a minor student of our school met a tragic death when he was crushed under the wheels of a brick-laden truck,” said Suniti Barua, headteacher of Chaingya Government Primary School under Sadar upazila.

“We have complained several times to the local administration to remove the brick kiln which was set up near our school but to no effect yet,” said Suniti Barua.

Contacted, Deputy Commissioner Daudul Islam said, “How we will stop operation of the illegal brick kilns if the influential ruling party men help the owners to run the business?”

“Despite repeated protest, we failed to stop building a brick kiln near Tazing Dong, the country’s highest peak in remote Thanchi upazila, threatening environment,” said Zumlian Amlai, chairperson (Bandarban chapter) of the Parbatya Chattogram Forest and Land Rights Protection.

Local authorities are in favour of the illegal brick kiln owners, he said.

Despite repeated calls, this correspondent could not reach the hill minister for his comment on the issue as he did not receive the phone.

Local sources said around 60 brick kilns have started operation in Lama, Alikadom, Thanchi, Naikhongchhari and Sadar upazilas defying the environmental laws.